Sound Direction:
Week 11 - The direction of our Sound Design
PLAN
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I will begin by outlining our aims and intentions for our Sound Design.
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Outline the requirements for Sound Design.
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The reason behind our choice of travel.
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What are the most important elements of our Sound Design?
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Examples and experimentation/mini prototy
Phase 4 - Decisions for Sound Direction
On this section, I will be documenting our choice of direction for Sound Direction and Design within our Project proposal and what we expect from our final outcome. I will base my documentation off what we aim to achieve from our Sound Design and I will be constantly linking back to previous sections of research to help this.
SOUND DIRECTION
Here I will be documenting our choices for our direction of Sound, relating this back to our initial goals and essential experience. I will be identifying what's most important for our sound design and why. I plan to finalise this page by giving existing sound samples as an example of what we'd like to produce and my own experimentation of this.
WHERE DO I BEGIN?
I will begin by thinking about the purpose of Sound Design in our project and why it's such an important aspect of our design. This will lead me to think about the requirements and aims of our sound design to ensure we can achieve this.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF SOUND DESIGN IN OUR PROJECT?
The purpose of Sound Design in our project is to enhance player engagement, immersion and encourage both emotional and physical regulation. I have previously learned and understood the benefits of music on mental health and by using these principles in our design, we can compose our own original music to have a positive impact on players - similar to the process of our Visual Direction. During my Phase 2 and 3 research, I also highlighted the importance of sound in media like games, as it's used to set the tone of the game and inform players. In addition to this, sound plays a huge part in achieving immersion by engaging players sense of hearing and evoking feelings of calm and relaxation throughout.
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BUT HOW CAN WE DO THIS?
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Throughout these four Phases I have understood how we can compose a piece of music using particular musical patterns to 'manipulate the feelings of the listener'. In summary, this means we can arrange our music in a certain way to make listeners feel a specific emotion. This relies on different musical methods such as choosing the key and tempo of our piece according to what mood we'd like to create. By the end of this page, I hope to have distinguished these musical patterns in a clear and distinct table of how we'd like our music to be arranged. By having a heavy focus on Sound Design, we can achieve our project goals and evoke our chosen emotions within users. This leads us onto our Aims for Sound Design.
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OUR AIMS FOR THE PROJECT
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Our aim for the overall project is to provide our target audience with the means to escape and immerse themselves into an engaging physical space of visuals and sound. Players will then use our post-experience reflective mobile game to channel their motivation and establish an action plan for the days ahead. Our project is directed towards students who experience stress, anxiety and overwhelm as a result of workload and responsibility, which they are finding hard to manage. The outcome of our project should help them to manage these feelings better and provide them with a space to self-reflect and act upon these emotions more positively.
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OUR AIMS FOR SOUND DESIGN
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So how do we use Sound Design to enhance our aim for the project and achieve our goals?
Our aim for our Sound Design is to produce a uniquely composed soundtrack for the physical space of our game, that will increase player engagement and immersion as well as encouraging emotional and physical regulation in our players. This should directly influence emotional and physical symptoms of anxiety, stress and overwhelm such as a fast heart rate, trembling and struggle breathing. We plan for the soundtrack to play for the duration of the 'immersive safe space' experience and should therefore last around 10-15 minutes. (This is subject to change after testing in Semester two)
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By being clear with these aims, we can create a distinct direction of travel for our sound design and implement this into a 'Sound Bible' in Semester 2. Similar to an Art Bible to lead the direction of art style and to keep this consistent, we will provide our Sound Designer (myself and extra support) with a document which outlines what we expect from our design as well as how we can achieve it.
THE REQUIREMENTS OF OUR SOUND DESIGN​
I have created a mind-map of the requirements for our Sound Design involving the following:
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Emotional Regulation - what must the sound design do in terms of emotional regulation for players?
Physical Regulation - what must the sound design do in terms of physical regulation for players?
Musical Patterns - which musical patterns will allow us to achieve our goals above?
Sound effects - which effects of sound can we implement into our design?
AREAS OF RESEARCH THAT HAVE SUPPORTED MY DESIGN AND DIRECTION CHOICES:
(Linked)
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EMOTIONAL REGULATION REQUIREMENTS
The requirements for our sound design in terms of emotional regulation must make players feel comforted and at ease, as well as evoking feelings of calm and relaxation throughout the physical space experience. The produced soundtrack must reduce physical symptoms of anxiety and stress and reduce the sensations of this. By making players feel more calm and in control, they'll be able to reflect upon their current situation and think about effective ways to deal with it. This will provide them with motivation which they can channel via our reflective mobile game after.
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PHYSICAL REGULATION REQUIREMENTS
The Soundtrack must reduce physical symptoms by reducing fast heart rates, heavy breathing and trembling. This links to the tempo we choose to do this. The piece must evoke feelings of positivity which will increase the release of dopamine, serotonin and endorphins into the blood.
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MUSICAL PATTERN REQUIREMENTS
The way we arrange our music must be by identifying the most appropriate methods to evoke the emotions of our choice. In my previous section and my Music Psychology research in Phase 2, I established the different patterns which can help me to achieve this. I listed the specific keys, tempo, melody and harmony we can use. We will be required to use the key C Major, G Major or B Minor as these 3 specific keys evoke feelings of peace, calm, satisfaction and acceptance. We can use this as a foundation for our soundtrack. In addition to this, we must keep the tempo of our soundtrack between 45 and 60 BPM which can be used to reduce fast heart rate and induce relaxation. The term 'Lento' is what we should refer to when thinking about the tempo of our piece to make players feel calm.
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SOUND EFFECTS REQUIREMENTS
Firstly, the instruments we should think about using include piano, string instruments and harp. The piano can produce soft and beautiful sounds which can be used to reduce high levels of stress and calm the mind. In terms of what is feasible, I am a pianist - therefore, I can help out wherever I can. String instruments are also great for calming and relaxing listeners. This is similar to what we hear in classical or instrumental songs, often used to study or calm the mind. Lastly, the harp is an instrument of healing! Due to its vibrations, it can help to reduce tensions in muscle tissue and calm anxiety. One of these instruments or even a subtle blend of two would be perfect for the composition of our soundtrack.
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In addition to these instrument choices, it'll be effective for us to consider nature sounds and atmospheric audio. Throughout my previous research I learned how these audio effects can be used to calm symptoms of anxiety and stress by focusing directly on the natural world. This brings people back to the moment and allows them to have control over their bodies. This will help immensely in providing players with a sense of control and bringing them back to the present moment - similar to mindfulness and the regulation practice of observing nature. Examples of atmospheric audio include birds chirping, waves crashing, rainfall and trees swaying.
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During Phase 3, I conducted a survey to gather insight to the kind of spaces and sounds people found most comforting. The result of this survey can impact the result of both our sound and visual design. Most of the suggestions gathered included waves crashing, fire crackling and the sound of rainfall - these are examples of sound effects we can implement in the background of our soundtrack which can also influence the outcome of our visual display in the space. (We will decide on environment type or visuals and evaluate whether or not atmospheric audio is suitable or not)
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In terms of our reflective app, as interactions and usability should be kept to a minimum, we can consider the simplest choice for sound effects. This could be the result of pushing a button or popping the tasks bubbles. We do not want to overload players with music and sound effects so this should be minimalist yet still give the app another dimension of engagement.
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Lastly, Surround Sound. We aim to integrate Surround Sound into the construction of our space to achieve full immersion - I researched different elements of sound within my Immersive Technology research which led me to this choice compared to binaural audio for example. (I considered feasibility and what would be easiest to implement)
Surround Sound systems provide a 3D dimension to sound, making players hear sound from every direction. The 6m Cylinder already has a 5.1 Surround Sound system within it, so all we would have to do is mix the music in a particular way to achieve this. We must speak with our potential sound designer/support to ensure they can do this otherwise it's something we will have to rethink.
GAME STORYBOARD
Similar to Visual Design, I can establish at which phase of the game will require Sound Design. Looking at my Gameplay Loop story-board and Beat Chart, I can identify the stages of the game where Sound Design will be most necessary:
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Documentation of this can be found here: Refining an Idea
From this, I can see that Sound Design is necessary for the main stage of the physical space experience and when players interact with the interface on screen. The main stage of gameplay will take place during Phases 4, 5 and 6 - where Sound Design and Audio is required to achieve full immersion and player engagement.
SOUND DIRECTION PLAN
So what do I need to think about?
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To further my Sound Direction, I need to consider the following:
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1. A uniquely composed soundtrack for the physical space, potentially consisting of atmospheric audio.
2. Minimalist sound effects as a result of interaction with the interface of our reflective mobile game.
NEXT STEPS
For my next steps, I plan to document my findings of existing soundtracks with similar intentions that we can use to influence and inspire the design of our own!
EXAMPLES
These examples are great demonstrations for how we intend for our composition to sound. Some consist of atmospheric audio on top of peaceful music whereas some are just instrumentals. Gaining inspiration from these will allow us to be clear and direct with our aims for Sound Design. We can eventually create our Sound Bible in line with this, and provide examples to help.
"INSTANT ANXIETY RELIEF MUSIC" - The Gateway Productions
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Soft piano music - diatonic scale.
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Made specifically for anxiety relief and panic attacks
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Ambient audio
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8D - can hear the music travel between headphones - not sure I enjoyed this!
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Simple melody
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Ambient effects were layered with a repetitive melody allowing listeners to focus as it's not unpredicatable.​
AUDIO LINK:
"MUSIC FOR WHEN YOU ARE STRESSED" - Ashley Zixuan
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A little more upbeat than the previous
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Soft piano instrumental on top of a subtle repetitive beat
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Atmospheric audio in the background - layers of birds chirping which were very calming
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Would have preferred it without the beat on top
AUDIO LINK:
"Madeline and Theo from Celeste" - Original Soundtrack 13 by Lena Raine
AUDIO LINK:
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Soft piano music
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String instruments used in the beginning
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Evokes feelings of calm, relaxation and hope
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Atmospheric audio - consists of crashing waves which I enjoyed in the background
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Layered melodies which I found a little distracting and may not be good for those with sensory overload. Better to focus on one distinct melody
"Sweden - Minecraft Soundtrack" - Originally written by Torby Brand
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Soft and mellow
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Beautiful piano instrumental
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Calming and relaxing feel
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Makes me feel creative and inspired
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I believe the simplicity of this track is something we should take into account, because it won't distract the player focus away from both the visuals, interactions and sound.
AUDIO LINK:
"Wenjia - Original Soundtrack" - Originally composed by Stallod orch.
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Beautifully put together
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Begins with wind-chimes and subtle piano melody
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Written in G major
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Evokes feelings of calm, peace and motivation
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I felt inspired as I listened and it also projected feelings of hope
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Also consists of atmospheric audio underneath the main melody - chirping birds, wind chimes and gusts of wind.
AUDIO LINK:
"Final Fantasy VII - Interrupted by Fireworks" - Originally written by Moises Nieto
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Slow tempo piano song with occasional use of strings/flute/clarinet
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Playful, youthful and cheerful
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It evokes feelings of optimism and hope
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I enjoyed it's simplicity and minimalist style
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Definitely one to pass on to Sound Designers and compare to our requirements
AUDIO LINK:
A SELECTION OF PLAYLISTS
To further my research, I created a series of playlists each in different keys. I focused on gathering music with keys C major, G major and B minor because this represents the key of music we intend to produce. This gives us a clearer idea of how the music might sound in the space:
Semester 1 Research Music Playlist - Made by me on Spotify
In phase 3, I created a playlist of music that inspired me which would be good to reference during the creation of our Sound Bible. I also gathered inspiration for Binaural, 8D and Immersive audio which can be found here: Technology Research.
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Link to playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Jij1PdE8JzXdbDlNaQJKp?si=5f83da54a8f6457d
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C Major Music Playlist - Made by me on Spotify
I put together a playlist of songs/instrumentals written and played in the key of C Major. As I listen to these songs I will be reflecting and evaluating upon this choice of key, and comment to te emotions/feelings it evokes.
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Link to playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4tb6HFOMAnQL1GyPLswAhz?si=9f479ea022b44c9a
The songs I have found in C Major are often more upbeat and lively compared to what we want to project. However, in terms of simplicity and minimalism, these are perfect examples to inspire our soundtrack composition. C Major is known to be the most basic key/chord/scale so It's not the most interesting but it does the job. The only limitation of composing in C Major is the tempo, these songs often have a faster tempo, which are more energetic. You can see the label 'Allegro' which means to play fast. I did find that a few of the songs were too fast for my liking and weren't suitable for our physical space. This kind of tempo would raise heart rates and do the opposite of keep players calm! I will still document this in our sound bible to provide examples of what we are trying to avoid.
G Major Music Playlist - Made by me on Spotify
Using the same method, I identified songs with the same key of G Major. My reflection and evaluation can be found below.
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Link to playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5ljtbbvpW0ud4v6uXLCW3C?si=8d2c9b7ae6724ff0
This playlist is a great demonstration of the same type of songs but using different instruments. I have duplicated the song 'Minuet' but played by a variation of instruments. I found that the classical harp music and piano version were the most comforting and relaxing. A piece like this would be ideal for our safe space, maybe layered with atmospheric audio too, to give it an extra layer of depth. I enjoy the key G Major because I think it's most suitable for our soundtrack as it evokes feelings of calm, gratitude and peace. To give these samples and extra layer, I think ambient audio and atmospheric sound effects are definitely necessary. This will achieve immersion in the space and give players something to focus on - but at the same time, to not over do it which is why I like the simplicity of a piano or strings.
B Minor Music Playlist - Made by me on Spotify
The playlist below is documentation of songs in the same key of B Minor. It was certainly more difficult to find calming songs in this key, however, the ones that I did find are still just as effective. It consists mostly of backing tracks but if we apply the same technique to our own composition we can produce a similar sound.
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Link to playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5ljtbbvpW0ud4v6uXLCW3C?si=8d2c9b7ae6724ff0
Lastly, the playlist in B Minor. I found this one hard to connect to as it wasn't as emotional as the other two. It didn't resonate with me and I found it hard to relate to. I researched a lot into emotional contagion which in summary is the idea that you can listen to music and feel the emotions projected, but this didn't have the same effect. I wouldn't wind-down and listen to this kind of music but then again, we must carry out user testing to establish which soundtrack people will prefer. This will be based off patterns/trends and common ground, rather than direct opinions.
ATMOSPHERIC AUDIO EXAMPLES
These are atmospheric audio samples that we could use to inspire the design of our own. Usually to create these kind of effects, it requires as early visit to an open field, beach, jungle etc, with a good quality microphone! However, there are also websites which allows you to source ones that have been already made.
"A SOFT MURMER" - Ambient sounds to wash away distraction
This website provides you with different ambient and atmospheric sounds such as rain, thunder, waves and wind! It allows you to adjust how much you hear of each element which I thought was a cool customisation element to it. We could use this to customise our own layer of ambient audio, to go behind our soundtrack composition.
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Link to website: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4tb6HFOMAnQL1GyPLswAhz?si=9f479ea022b44c9a
MINI PROTOTYPE DEMO
I played around to experiment with ambient audio and created a little prototype demonstration of the kind of sound effects we could have beneath our composition. According to my survey results, people find crashing waves, fire, birds and rainfall most calming. So I decided to layer these sounds and see what effect it created.
"EPIDEMIC SOUND" - Ambient sounds, sound effects and atmospheric audio
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In Semester 2 of last year, I used this website to gather sound effects for my project at the time. This allowed me to search for effects regarding different moods, genres and themes. It's a great source for identifying audio for your specific needs. In our case, we can use it to idenfiy relaxing ambient sounds and music which will accompany our soundtrack. But it also provide a few soundtrack options too. It's definitely a site to link in our Project Proposal and Sound Bible too.
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THE SPACE
The site allowed me to search for ambient music based on mood, genre and theme. I chose to explore the mood 'relaxing' as this relates most to our project. I was then able to add different effects to my own made playlist. This will be useful to separate the effects that we need.
THE REFLECTIVE APP
It also has a section on sound effects for things like User Interface and other interactions. Last year I was able to source gusts of wind and boulder drop which was really effective in our project at the time. It stimulated real audio of the environmental interactions that happened in-game. Using this, I was able to source examples of 'bubbles' popping, and UI/button clicks which could be useful for our mobile game sound effects.
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I really enjoyed 'Beep Electronic 9' specifically.
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The effects I found can be found on my playlist here:
Mobile Application Effects
https://www.epidemicsound.com/playlist/rxjsyv3c8din66pppmct8cqzaxywtdt2
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A SELECTION OF YOUTUBE VIDEOS - Nature Sounds
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To finalise my documentation of sources, I felt I needed more nature-related audio because a lot of my research is about the importance of nature and it's connection to mental and physical health. This can include connecting with nature, observing surroundings and engaging your senses. These are great for relaxing the mind and body and being present in the natural world - mindfulness. I will document a selection of nature sounds which could be great for our final proposal and outcome.
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In my opinion, I love the atmosphere created by the campfire video. I love the sound of the birds with the crackling of the fire. Perfect to sit and listen to to wind-down and take a well-deserved time-out from work.
EXPERIMENTATION & MINI PROTOTYPES
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For the last section of my Sound Direction documentation, I plan to use some of what I learned to compose mini pieces using the same keys as I have shown above. I plan to create small improvised pieces with the scales of these keys to give myself an idea of how we could begin our Sound Design next Semester. I will also experiment with chord progressions to hear the effect of different notes.
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WHAT AM I HOPING FROM THIS?
I am hoping to simply just experiment with what I know can work and demonstrate how we might begin thinking about the Sound Design for our game. I am also hoping to provide insight to the kind of effect we'd like to have on players - that's if it isn't clear enough already!
PROCESS
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I began by experimenting with different chord patterns. Comparing the different sets of chords you can really tell the difference between the tone/feel that they project.
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CHORD PATTERN: G Major, B Flat, C Major
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This chord pattern is quite up-lifting and project feelings of hope.
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It's a simple yet effective way to evoke feelings of contentment and serenity
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Uses G Major key which I earlier established is the key used to evoke calm, gratitude and peace.
CHORD PATTERN: C Major, G Major, A Major, F Major
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One of the more basic chord patterns
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Begins with C Major
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C Major is known to evoke feelings of happiness and cheer
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Combined with G, A and F Major it creates a more subtle tone and almost comes across more emotional!
CHORD PATTERN: A Minor, F Major, C Major, G Major
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The feel of this is more mellow yet still effective and evokes feelings of happiness
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The combination of these chords project a sense of hope and belief
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It makes me feel optimistic, if it were to be played in the back of a motivational speech it would be perfect!
CHORD PATTERN: B Minor, E7th, G Major, F Sharp
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This one made me reflect upon my thoughts - it's something about the progression between chords as they are quite sudden.
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The chord progression also makes me feel as if there is hope or light at the end of a dark tunnel - this is because you don't expect the next chord but when it comes, it's quite soothing.
MINI COMPOSITIONS
I then took my favourite chord progressions and began to form small improvisations to demonstrate how these chords can come together to create unique little compositions. My aim for these compositions were to reflect feelings of peace, relaxation and tranquility. I kept in mind the slow tempo as part of my requirements and initially followed the beat of my metronome to do this.
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This is a small demonstration of how we could put this chord pattern together to form a composition for our physical space. I tried to keep the tempo of the piece slow and delicate to relax listeners and keep a sense of calm throughout. I believe this would be a good sample to use to reduce fast heart rate and steady breathing.
I then explored the chord pattern C Major, G Major, A Major and F Major which resulted in this improv. This piece sounds more cheerful and uplifting compared to the previous although, I feel the tempo is too fast to keep players at ease and we want to avoid making them feel on edge. This may still be effective if we slowed the tempo down to around 50BPM which is the recommended tempo for relaxation and meditation music.
I adapted the previous composition using the same chord progressions but this time added in more depth. However, I can safely say that this wasn't a great choice as when I was listening I found myself struggling to keep up. This is not the effect we want to have on players but it was a good experiment to evaluate what works and what doesn't.
I chose to carry on experimenting with these chords as they consist of both C and G Major keys which we established to evoke feelings of calm which is exactly what we aim for. I overcame my previous mistake and adapted this piece by using a slower tempo and a more light and gentle approach. You can hear this is overall a more calming and delicate piece.
I added in a small melody which you can hear over the chords I play and I think the result of this was near enough what we expect from our soundtrack. It's clearly no way near complete, but it's a good example of how we'd like the soundtrack to sound. It's important for this track to immerse, engage and evoke calm in players while they observe the physical space - and potentially interact too. Considering these potential interactions, it's important to keep it quite minimalist and basic as we don't want to overload players with layers of sound, visuals and require them to interact with the space too. This can cause overload of the senses and result in players feeling out of control.
To finish off my experimentation, although I could have gone all day - I put everything I had learned together to create this small composition. I am imagining a much slower tempo, more depth and layers of ambient sound/atmospheric audio to complete it. This could consist of birds chirping, crashing waves, fire crackling or rivers flowing - but this does all depend on the envrionment we choose in Semester two to establish which is most appropriate.
CONCLUSION: SOUND DIRECTION
To conclude this section, Kiera and I have a greater understanding of our direction for Sound Design in terms of our final outcome. We plan to propose our idea with samples of sound experimentation and existing tracks that have will the desired effect on our players. This will allow us to demonstrate our expectations from our Sound Design and be direct with our intentions for this area. It's a vital aspect of our game for several reasons and I believe I did a great job at coming to design conclusions and establishing reasoning for this, keeping our Project Goals and requirements in mind.
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NEXT STEPS
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The next steps for my teammate and I will involve creating a clear and distinct 'Sound Bible' to share with our Sound Designer/support next Semester. This document will consist of our aims for its design, the requirements we must fulfil and examples of experimentation/sound samples that will further support this. This way, we can provide our Sound Designer with insight into exactly how we'd like it - this avoids miscommunication and misunderstanding. Having everything laid out and clearly explained means we can achieve a successful outcome.